


Crescent Moon

by orphan_account



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), Post-Episode: Tale of Two Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22645240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After the events of Tale of Two Sisters, Varian begins to realize that he's gained a small amount of the moonstone's power. Desperate, he uses the moonstone to try to get his dad out of Zhan Tiri's control by going to see Cassandra one more time. Zhan Tiri convinces Cassandra that she can get the full power of the moonstone back from Varian, but Cass is beginning to have doubts.
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian
Comments: 35
Kudos: 219





	1. Act 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Tiny Disclaimer: This is being written after the release of Tale of Two Sisters. Which means as this is being plotted, I have no knowledge of future episodes. I just really wanted to write some Moonstone!Varian.)

“Wait…” Rapunzel muttered, pacing the cold stone floor of Damanitus's Lab. “You have a piece of the moonstone?” she asked, still bewildered despite Varian already explaining.

“I didn’t want to tell you yet,” Varian replied timidly, holding it out in his hands for her to see. “It broke off and it blew straight to me. I grabbed it before falling.”

Varian shuttered at the memory… His heart racing as the ground raced up to him, his hand desperately closed around the shred of the moonstone, holding it to his chest as it cut into his palm.

Rapuzel stopped pacing directly in front of him and examined the moonstone. She began to reach for it. Instinctively, Varain closed his hand, blocking her from taking it. Varian met Rapunzel’s confused stare.

“Sorry, Raps, but I need to run a few more tests,” he lied, returning it to his pocket, and keeping his hand there too. Rapunzel nodded in agreement, a shadow of a grin on her face.

“So… you and Cassandra had an adventure, huh?” he asked, wanting to turn her attention away from the stone or himself.

Rapunzel gaze shifted down to the ground as she nodded slowly and crossed her arms in front of her. “Yeah,” she whispered. Quickly regaining her confident demeanor, she made eye contact and smiled at Varian. “I’ll tell you about it later. I’ll let you work.” She turned and began walking up the extensive staircase. Varian watched her, his hand lingering in his pocket, still holding on to the moonstone.

Rudiger made a small noise at Varian’s feet. Varian sighed, setting the moonstone back on the wooden table, cluttered with beakers and vials filled with various colors of liquids. He hesitated when his eyes caught the bandage wrapped tightly around his hand, a thin line appearing where the blood had seeped through.

Varian backstepped, flopping tiredly into the wooden chair. “This moonstone  _ has  _ to have an answer as to why my dad was acting so… strange.” Varian began mindlessly unwinding the bandage, shivering as he felt the cool air of the cavern settle into the deep cut.

He held his hand up close to his face, searching for any changes from yesterday's observations. The bleeding had slowed incredibly. Almost to a stop. But Varian quickly saw the thing he’d been dreading. All day, he’d been putting this off, not wanting to know if his hypothesis was correct.

The area around the cut was considerably more pale than Varian's previous check up, now almost with a bluish tint. His heart jumped to his throat as he struggled to remember to breathe.

“No… No no no,” he murmured in a panic, trying to wrap his hand again. Once he had tightened the bandage, he glanced at his reflection in a tiny silver plate that someone had brought his dinner, a ham sandwich, on a few hours ago. Now empty, it provided a clear picture for Varian.

As expected, the blue streak in his hair was a brighter blue, nearing the color of the Old Corona sky in the middle of summer. It was beginning to stick out, no longer his general faded, dark hue. It was a miracle Rapunzel didn’t notice it, or at least didn't mention it.

Gently, he ran his fingers through the hair that had transformed and closed his eyes.

_ Varian recalled the attack as he closed his eyes, blocking out the thought of his changing hair. His father's eyes glowed a fluorescent blue, similar to Varian's hair, right before he swung for Varian's head. Varian ducked just in time to dodge the impact. Varian twisted around and sprinted back to his home. Heart pounding, thoughts racing, Varian was being followed. He slid through the doorway, and tripped over his own feet as he went around the corner and down the stairs to his lab. The place where one rock remained, kept for Varian to study and experiment on. His father stayed on his tracks. Varian grabbed the beaker that held both his worst nightmare and only current hope, and hid behind the rock, listening intently to his father's heavy footsteps. _

_ His father walked around the lab, swiping things off Varian's shelves. Glass shattered against the ground, causing Varian to flinch. Grumbling, his dad placed his hand on the rock, peering over. Before his dad could react to finding Varian, Varian jumped to his feet and threw the beaker at his dad's hand. _

_ As he had many times growing up, Varian saw the mark on his dad's hand. A circular shape with short lines over it. Now, it gave off a faint blue gleam, like his eyes. _

_ Varian blubbered multiple apologies to his father, tears falling off his face. He had to stand away from his father's reach, pushing himself against the wall, forced to watch. His dad grunted and tried to pull away from the slowly expanding amber. _

_ Varian fell to his knees and curled in on himself, sobbing into his hands for what felt like hours before he dared to hold his head up again. _

_ His dad was fully encased in amber. Varian felt haunted by the permanent and eery blue illumination from his eyes and hand. _

_ Varian stood weakly and wasted no time getting away from the scene. Wreckage scattered the house throughout. Smashed glass in the lab from beakers and vials laid all over the ground. Some of the contents had mixed and created a thin layer of bubbling gray foam that covered most the floor. The state of upstairs wasn't any better. Anything that stood in the path of his dad was crushed to bits. _

_ Most notably, a picture frame that once held a picture of their small family. Varian was still a toddler, grinning widely with squinting eyes, and his dad next to him, powerful and strong. A hint of a smile on his face. _

_ Varian didn't wait to inspect any more and promptly left, dragging his feet out the still open door. _

Varian's eyes shot open, gasping for breath, his hands releasing his hair and flying to the sides of his head to battle an oncoming migraine. The memory seemed so real. All Varian had done was  _ close his eyes. _

At least he knew that Rapunzel could get him out when everything had blown over. When Varian had the strength to tell her, he would. She had enough going on currently. For now, it was safer if he just left Quirin where he couldn't hurt anyone while Varian figured it all out.

Varian saw the moonstone's glimmering surface from the corner of his view. 

He just needed to know how the stone and his dad's odd behavior related. Varian felt a tug in the back of his mind, dragging him to the conclusion that this all  _ had _ to do with Cassandra.

“Rudiger, we have a lot of work to do before we can try to talk to Cassandra again… if she really is tied to this,” he laughed quietly. Rudiger jumped up on the table, sniffing the moonstone curiously.

He looked up for the first time in a few minutes, his eyes landing on a bright red rock that had grown from the ground. He gasped and pushed his chair away from the rock, suddenly on his feet and the chair toppled over.

His immediate thought was that Cassandra was back. He looked around wildly, trying to spy if she had returned for Varian. The rock expanded, pointing menacingly towards Varian in an accusation of who caused its existence.

Instantly, he found Rudiger, who had run off when Varian had gasped, and opened his arms for him to curl up against Varian’s chest. The racoon's shuttering body matched Varian, but the coarse hurt brought some degree of comfort and familiarity. Weakly, Varian mumbled words of comfort to Rudiger. For a brief moment, he was unable to think. He breathed heavily, debating if he should run or if he should stay and learn more.

Making his decision, he approached the rock. Rudiger buried his face in Varian’s arm in protest. Varian advanced.

Without warning, his hand began throbbing. Varian grimaced, the pain becoming unbearable as he got closer. Finally, it became a searing pain, shooting up Varian’s arm and flooding his head, making his ears ring.

He jumped back, giving up. Rudiger saw his opportunity and hopped out of Varian’s arms and scurried away, running up the stairs.

Out of the corner of Varian’s eye, he saw the shard of the moonstone giving off a dim light. Hurriedly, he kneeling next to the table, staring at the stone’s reaction. It was reacting to  _ Varian’s  _ emotions.

Varian took the rock in his burning hand, twisting it in between his fingers, his own palm returning to a painless state. As he began calming down, the rock shrunk, retreating back into the hole in the ground. Varian thought for a moment. He concentrated, focusing on the anger he felt when he was trying to get Rapunzel’s attention a few years ago. The cavern shook, loose pebbles fell and bounced on the ground, and a black rock sprouted in place of the red one.

Varian studied it, still pondering the situation.

The rock was causing some strange tie to his mind and feelings. Even just this small part of a whole was making Varian see things. Things that made him panic.

His dad was acting strange, like something was controlling his mind.

In a way, Varian's mind was controlled too. Just to a smaller degree.

And Cassandra had the rest of the moonstone.


	2. Act 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before reading this, i highly advise rereading the last chapter because it went through some heavy editing :)

“Rapunzel!” Varian called, seeing her walking through the castle corridor. Rapunzel turned, smiling when her gaze landed on Varian jogging towards her.

“Varian? What are you doing here? I thought you were still working on- '' Rapunzel began, immediately opening her arms for a hug. Varian launched himself into Rapunzel’s embrace.

“I am,” he quickly replied. After a few seconds of hugging, they let go of each other.

The passage way wasn’t completely empty, a few guards standing at either end, who eyed Varian with a cautious curiosity. There were some far away conversations that echoed softly throughout the whole castle, but other than that, it was quiet.

“I just really wanted to ask you some things. About Cassandra,” he said. Her green eyes stared at him intently as she stood tensely, except for a small nod, allowing Varian to go on.

“The moonstone broke off from Cassandra, right?” Varian asked. Rapunzel nodded again, looking away slightly, obviously reliving the memory.

“Was she  _ at all  _ acting different last time you saw her?” Varian said next. 

Rapunzel sighed in defeat, shifting her balance, obviously uncomfortable with the interrogation. “Yeah,” she admitted. “She seemed like she was… like she was my friend again,” Rapuzel stuttered slightly, almost as though she was talking to herself more than directly to Varian, her mind far away.

Varian froze, his theory evolving. Cassandra wasn't controlling his dad. But the moonstone was controlling  _ Cassandra _ . When a part of the stone was seperared, Cassandra started to break free.

He couldn't imagine the way Cassandra's mind must be twisted and manipulated in comparison to Varian.

Varian swallowed his fear, the shard of the moonstone feeling heavy in his pocket.

Varian saw Rapunzel’s deflated state. He considered asking for her help. Together, they could get Cass back, save Corona and find out how his dad fit into all this. But Rapunzel’s lip slightly quivered and her eyes watered as she avoided making eye contact with Varian, and Varian knew she needed a break. He thanked Rapunzel and made a swift exit, heading back to his home. Besides, Varian saving the kingdom could prove that he had changed since his villain days.

Save Cassandra. Save Corona. Get answers and save his dad.

Varian was shaking as he held his hand against the amber. His father’s lifeless self towered over Varian. Rudiger sat nearby on the ground, his eyes trained on the boy’s silent moment of regaining his courage for his adventure. Eventually, Varian sat up and adjusted the bag’s strap that rested on his shoulder.

“Rudiger, you stay here and watch dad,” he said. Rudiger responded by stretching on the ground and closing his eyes. Varian smiled fondly at the sleepy animal. Rudiger was safe here.

With that small affirmation, he walked out of his home and looked up at the dark tower. He hesitated the first few steps, remembering the last time he was there. He wanted to run back inside, hide away from all the responsibility and the danger, but he was the only one who could maybe somehow get Cassandra back home and save his dad.

Afraid and without a plan, he started walking again. At first, barely able to pick up his feet and go forward. After some time, Varian knew he was closer to the tower than he was to home, and that it was getting dark. He picked up his pace, pit in his stomach, alone, and still no idea how to pull everything off.

Varian arrived after the sun had dipped below the high reaching cliffs that surrounded the tower made of the black rocks. The close proximity to the rest of the moonstone and the rocks made Varian’s hand sting once again.

He couldn’t yet bring himself to think of a way in. Or even to get too close to the tower. He sat in the grass, looking over his injury. It was the same as that morning, the only thing was the pain that increased with each second. In an attempt to distract from the pain, he reached in his pocket and pulled out the stone, forgetting to rewrap his hand. He found that holding the stone made the pain subside to a faint tingling at the tips of his fingers.

Distantly, Varian heard the groan of rocks being created. Varian’s eyes shot up to the top of the tower. Varian spied Cassandra’s blue hair. Varian shivered at the sight of her, even from so far away. Still, he stood up and walked to where the rocks had created an uneven staircase, steep and narrow, more alike to a latter. He tightened his grip around the stone, just as tightly he did when he first grabbed it. It completely dulled the existing pain.

Varian climbed, trying to shove down his anxieties about the height, filling his mind with the image of hugging his dad and of saving Cassandra from the moonstone. Before he knew it, he reached the top.

He felt an icy hand grab his and pull him over onto the smooth back rock balcony. Varian scrambled awkwardly to his feet, stuttering out an incoherent string of words. A somewhat beg for Cassandra to not hurt him.

“What are you doing here?” Cassandra hissed. Varian’s heart leapt at hearing Cassandra’s voice again. A bittersweet feeling of complete terror but also relief. Cassandra’s question sunk into Varian. He had no reasonable answer. He needed answers about his dad, but he had nothing to go off of. But he was also there to redeem himself and to save Cassandra. Probably best to just mention the first explanation.

Varian opened his mouth to speak multiple times, but he was stopped each time but the overwhelming phantom of having the wind knocked out of him.

_ What if Varian failed? _

Varian's eyes watered quickly, a lump in his throat made him unable to speak. Cassandra observed Varian has he awkwardly bit his lip, not able to find any correct words.

_ What if he couldn't get his dad back? _

“It’s my dad,” Varian choked, his grief swelling inside of him. “Cassandra, whatever you’ve done,  _ please,  _ I can’t lose him  _ again _ .” Varian was starting to cry, his eyes spilling over with tears, every word a struggle to get out. He sniffed repeatedly and wiped his eyes wildly with his sleeve.

He was breaking down quickly. The stone had a hold on him; being so close to the rest of it's source.

“Varian,” Cassandra sighed. Suddenly, her eye caught the moonstone pressed in Varian’s palm, shining through his tightly closed fingers. “Give me that,” she said, her anger returning. She snatched Varian’s wrist and tugged it to her, causing Varian to stumble. She pried at Varian’s fist, but Varian fought back, trying to pull his arm away, his knuckles white with his best effort to protect the stone.

No matter what, Cassandra could not get that remaining fragment of the moonstone.

“Varian, stop it!” she argued, finally forcing his hand open. She tried to grab the stone, but her own hand closed, empty. The stone had ingrained itself in his palm where the cut had once been. Stunned, Cassandra glared up at him, watching as his hair became the same hue of blue that Cassandra had, and she dropped Varian’s hand. 

Varian, in his own confusion, stared at his hand, brushing his fingers over the stone. This diverted his attention and made him stop sobbing immediately.

“What have you done?” Cassandra yelled at him, beginning to pace away from. She was stopped as a red rock slowly emerged from the wall. Cassandra jumped back, gasping.

“No no no,” Varian said, now noticing his hair, the blue now spreading to every strand, leaving none of his natural black. Another rock stretched out to Cass, with more appearing every moment.

Varian’s head was running in circles. His hand had  _ taken _ the stone. Why? His hair was blue. He needed to get his dad back. He needed to get Cassandra back to Corona. He needed to save Corona. He still needed answers. Feeling sick and weighed down, Varian struggled to keep himself up right.

“Varian?” Cass yelled nervously, walking backwards away from a growing red rock. “Varian! Snap out of it! Deep breaths!” She grabbed her sword. Just in case.

Cassandra’s voice barely made it to Varian’s mind. Taking her advice, he tried to suck in a breath, but the weight on his chest was suffocating.

Amidst the chaos, Zhan Tiri stood at Cassandra’s side. Cassandra hardly gave her a glance.

“He has the piece of the moonstone,” Zhan Tiri commented to Cass.

“I realized.”

“You can get it back, Cassandra. If you can get him to our side. Then you’ll regain the power you’ve lost. Are you really going to let another friend of the Princess take some of the power that belongs to you?” Zhan Tiri questioned.

Cassandra shook her head, still focused on the red rocks.

"I will help you, but only as much as I can. When you calm him down, I will take away his fear with my control on the moonstone to gain his trust," Zhan Tiri reminded. Cassandra sent a wary glance to Zhan Tiri, remembering her hand in the stone's power, but Zhan Tiri had already disappeared.

Cass twisted around to see Varain, slightly hunched over, unable to breathe. Cass felt a stab of sympathy for her old friend. Varian deserved no part of this, and with every small thing, he was getting deeper into the danger. He just wanted everything to be okay.

Cassandra ran to his side and took a hold of his shoulder, the rocks hunting behind Cassandra.

"The moonstone is strong, Varian. I can help you," Cassandra offered, Varian gave no acknowledgement to Cass. “We can get your dad back,” she assured him, trying to get Varian to look at her. “After this is all over, he’ll be back to normal. I promise.”

Varian gasped for air, speaking in between each one. “Do... You… Promise?” he asked.

Cassandra smiled, a strange grin that Varian was unable to read if it was sincere or one of Cassandra’s plans. “You just have to stay here.”

“Why?” Varian asked, hiccuping like a child after a tantrum.

“We have to work together. To get you dad back, I need to win against Rapunzel. You understand?”

Varian nodded.

It gave Varian time to devise a real plan and to get the vital information about what Varian's dad had to do with all this.


	3. Act 3

Varian smiled at Cassandra, who grinned back. “Together,” they said at the same time.  The tower shook as a tree-sized rock began to reach up to the ceiling. Varian held back his excitement and kept all his thoughts on making the rock bigger.

He was improving. Ever since Cassandra had started teaching him how to work together and mix their efforts into one power, Varian hadn't experienced any extreme emotions. And now, he was beginning to be able to wield the stone; with Cassandra's help. The next lesson was supposed to try transferring small amounts of the moonstone's power to the other for a temporary moment of time, and Varian was ready to do _ more. _

Varian’s training was cut short by the small girl’s voice cutting through the deep rumbles. “Cassandra,” she addressed formally. Varian lost his train of thought and the rock shrunk back into the floor. Varian sighed, but was proud of himself nonetheless. Cassandra strolled over to Varian before answering the girl.

“Good job, Varian. Let me tell you a secret,” she said, dropping her voice low. “I didn’t even help you with that one. That was all you.” They both laughed quietly, Varian's eyes glinting with joy, enjoying the progress Varian had made just overnight. Before Varian could say anything to her, she had spun around and started making her way to the girl.

It was the afternoon of the next day. The entire time, Varian was with Cassandra. They had the full power of the moonstone.

After the first few hours, the girl had introduced herself to Varian. Varian instantly recognized her as the ghost from his dream. He wanted to say something about it to Cassandra, but he knew it was safer to lay low until he could know what was happening and how to save Corona. Perhaps he could see if this mystery kid was related to the whole situation. Based on the way she would survey Varian’s every mood, she was integrated in this somehow.

Varian tried to use this time to construct a plan, but he was always distracted with his training. So far, the only breakthroughs he had made was that Cassandra was certainly acting less evil. There was still hope.

Exhausted, Varian sat on the ground against the wall for a short break, he rested his hand on a rock at his side. “Rapunzel, I’m really trying. Be patient with me,” he whispered to the ground. For a brief moment, Varian could have sworn he heard Rapunzel whisper back.

“Cassandra, why haven’t you gotten the stone?” Zhan Tiri scolded as Cassandra got nearby. “Are you  _ doubting _ your destiny?”

“No!” Cassandra defended. “I just have a bad feeling… What will happen when I take it from him?” Cassandra questioned, feeling oddly guilty about her own hesitation.

“Does it matter?” Zhan Tiri retorted. “The moonstone is  _ yours _ .”

“Although,” Zhan Tiri said, “I can tell you that the stone is a mysterious power of decay and darkness. Nobody has ever had something of this power ripped from them. I warn you, the consequences are unknown. Even to me.”

Cassandra sighed sadly, knowing better than to argue, and went back to Varian’s side. He was staring at the ground, puzzled.

“Listen, Varian,” she said gravely, “this has been really fun. But I need the rest of the moonstone.”

Varian jumped up, his hand behind his back. “No,” he said simply. “Cass, we were going to work together. My dad, remember?” Varian felt his heart begin to race, taking a few steps backwards.

Cassandra sensed the panic starting in Varian. She raised both hands in defeat. “I need it,” she begged gently, her own eyes watering, matching Varian’s own inner turmoil.

Varian needed a way out. The moonstone was the only thing that could maybe give Varian enough strength to figure out the truth and if Cassandra was fully in possession of the moonstone, Varian would lose all ability to snap her out of it.

“Please,” he whimpered, unable to say much more. What was there to say? Cassandra held out her hand. Varian slumped down and, defeated, dug the tips of his fingers around the edge of the stone. Varian’s hand slipped and he was unable to get a hold of it. It was a vain attempt, but if he didn’t understand how it got there, how could he get it out?

“Varian,” the girl addressed darkly, walking towards them from the other side of the room. “You have to be willing to give up the stone,” she explained, her mouth twisted into a deep frown. “When you were trying to protect the moonstone from Cassandra, you were willing to do  _ anything  _ to keep it from her. You accepted the moonstone subconsciously.”

Varian shook his head in disbelief. “That’s not true,” he defended. “I didn’t want this. I just want to have my dad back.”

“Your father is Quirin, yes?”

Varian noddded, not questioning how she knew.

Zhan Tiri only gave her wide grin to the pair and walked away, leaving Varian and Cassandra to awkwardly stare at each other.

“Now,” Cassandra demanded, holding her hand closer to him. Varian shrugged, trying to remain calm.

“I can’t, Cassadnra.”

Cassandra exhaled loudly. “I don’t  _ want  _ to do this, but I have to at some point. I won’t make you today. But be prepared to give up the moonstone soon.”

Varian looked away, rubbing his thumb over his palm, the sliver of the stone blending with his palm.

“Cassandra! Hand Varian over!” a familiar female voice shouted from the other side of the tower. Both Varian and Cassandra swung around, seeing Rapunzel and Eugene standing at the tower’s entrance.

“Rapunzel?” Varian and Cassandra said in sync.

Eugene gasped dramatically. “So am I invisible? Nobody is happy to see me?”

Varian looked between them. They had come for him. “How did you know?” Varian asked.

“We were looking for you,” Rapunzel began to recount the story. “We found your dad. Then I heard your voice coming from the rocks. I knew there was something wrong.”

“It was really just a wild guess after that,” Euegene cut in, glaring at Cassandra.

Cassandra felt Varian’s panic, she glanced at him and held out her hand, providing a barricade between him and Rapunzel and Eugene. “Stay calm, Varian, you’re still unstable,” she warned.

“Kid, why is your hair blue?” Eugene asked worriedly. He took a few steps forward. Cassandra held out her hand that wasn’t blocking Varian, and a rock appeared and blocked Eugene from advancing. Varian flinched seeing the point of it jab at Eugene’s chest.

Silently, Varian raised his hand for Eugene and Rapunzel to see, filled with the worry they would be disappointed in him. Once Rapunzel saw it, she covered her mouth with her hands. Varian forced a soft chuckle to confirm that he was still okay.

“We’ll get you out of this,” Rapunzel promised, scanning the room for a way to get to him.

Varian couldn’t leave yet. “Don’t,” Varian quickly said, “I chose this.” His heart was picking up pace rapidly. Everything was going wrong. Because Varian can’t fail  _ again _ . Somehow he needed to get everything back on track and find the answers he  _ demanded _ , but his mind was stuck on holding onto Cassandra’s power, holding her back from hurting anyone. But she was slipping away and fought him for control.

Then Cassandra let go. Of all the power. A rush of immense and varying emotions smashed into him, freezing him in his place, filling his lungs and constricting his throat.

_ It was all because of Varian. His dad was in amber. Rapunzel and Eugene were not in danger. Varian had messed everything up again. What would his dad say? He’d let everyone down and he had failed. _

Varian screamed suddenly. He turned to Cassandra, thick tears streaming down his cheeks. “I wanted my dad, and I don’t even know what’s wrong with him! It has to be because  _ you _ and I thought I could come here with no idea what to do. And I thought that I could convince you to come  _ home _ ,” he said swiftly, not sure how to inhale in between each sentence, so instead he said it in one fast breath, the words slurring together to be almost incoherent as each tear that rolled down and splashed on the black floor. With every drop, the ground flashed red where it hit.

With every flash of blood red light, a matching rock appeared. Usually nearby Rapunzel and Eugene, slowly surrounding them, but some of them emcompassing Cassandra.

Varian spun to Rapunzel and Eugene. “And I was going to figure it out! But you had to come and make everything worse!” They both went to say something back to Varian, but he talked over them. “I wanted to redeem myself. Do something good for Corona. All I’ve ever done is made things worse!”

The rocks were now crowding the whole room, but Varian, with his eyes shut tight, sunk to the ground, hiding his face in his hands.

Varian’s following sobs echoed throughout the tower.

“Varian, breathe!” Rapunzel shouted. A rock shoved her into Eugene, forcing them into a small space. There was nowhere to go, the rocks were closing in on everyone, even Cassandra, who was weakened byt he loss of power she gave Varian. She had hoped that it would render him unconscious so he wouldn’t interfere with Cassandra’s own emotions. Obviously, it was backfiring miserably. Cassandra’s legs wobbled, unable to keep herself up.

But Varian didn’t budge. He continued spiraling into a deeper panic. Numerous rocks jammed into the tower.

“Blondie, can you get me at all close to him?” Eugene asked, hoping his idea would work. Team Awesome had to mean something to the kid, maybe Eugene could help.

Rapunzel scanned the tower, her attention landing on one red rock that had grown across the ceiling. “Yes I can,” she confirmed, undoing the beaded clips in her hair. Eugene grabbed onto a strand of her hair and wrapped his arm around her as she threw her hair up to the rock. It wrapped around tightly. Eugene helped to lift them both off the ground and kick off of a nearby rock a couple to so they could swing over the spikes.

Eugene dropped down at Varian’s side. He knelt next to the shaking boy and set a hand on his back, which rose and fell unevenly with each sob.

“Varian, kid,” he said softly, “you gotta listen to me.”

Varian immediately threw himself into Eugene’s arms, hiding his face his his vest. “I didn’t mean for everything to get so out of hand,” his muffled voice said.

Eugene held Varian, allowing him to cry into his chest. “It’s okay,” he assured him. “You were scared.”

“I just wanted everything to be okay again,” Varian whimpered. Eugene could barely even hear the boy’s voice now as he began to grow more quiet.

“I know, I know. And it will be one day, but you can’t stay here. This isn’t the way.”

Varian sat up and sniffed. “Can I stay with you and Rapunzel? I can’t be in that house… not with…” Varian’s voice trailed off, and he looked down at his hands.

“Of course. Now, let’s get out of here,” Eugene suggested. Varian nodded. As he stood, the rocks retreated back into the walls of the tower.

“Alright, Blondie,” Eugene said as Rapunzel dropped down from the shrinking rock. She ran over to Varian and hugged him with a tight squeeze. Varian laughed faitly and hugged her back.

“You should’ve talked to me,” she chided like a mother to her child. Varian apologized as he let go of her. Eugene began to walk towards the entrance of the town, Varian next to him, but Rapunzel kept her eyes on Cassandra.

“Wait,” Rapunzel called. She walked over to Cassandra, who was slowly regaining the power she had given to Varian now that he allowed her to have it back. And with it, her own strength. Starting to stand, but not making a move to chase after Varian. She raised her eyebrows and scowled as Rapunzel approached. Rapunzel continued until she stopped just a few feet away from Cass.

“You can come back with us. We can work everything out. Please, Cassandra.” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra sighed impatiently. “No, Rapunzel, we are not friends. Our fates will soon clash, but today is not that day,” she said bitterly. “Beware the eclipse, sun drop,” she warned. Stabbed with  déjà vu , Rapunzel walked back briskly to join Eugene and Varian.

“Varian,” Cassandra called, her voice serious. Varian paused and turned, the other two stopped with him, but Varian motioned for them to continue, telling them he would catch up on the balcony. “Rapunzel and I may have a fate that ends in war,” Cassandra said, “but you and I have become one in the same. Bonded by the moonstone. I won’t take that power from you, and I can’t force you to give it up. It hurts us both.

“But, if you chose them, I cannot be your friend. You will also be my enemy, and you go against your own power. Pick your allies wisely in this coming darkness,” she advised.

Varian bubbled with an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time, as though it was forgotten under the fear and pain the moonstone had twisted in him. He was angry. “You betrayed us. You kidnapped me. You used me. You lied to me. You put me and my friends in danger. Everyone in this room has tried to help you, offered their love and support to you and wanted you to come back. Yet you still chose to try to harm those closest to me and pretended to be my friend,” he argued, shoving down the stone’s inner attempt to exploit the negative emotion. “It is more than who I chose to stand with that will make us enemies.”

He did feel slightly bad at his sudden lash out, but it also felt good to verbally express where they stood.

Cassandra stared at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. Varian caught up with his friends, and willed a new staircase down to the ground. It was safer than the one Cassandra had made for Varian, much less steep, and wider, enough for them to all walk side by side without the hazard of falling.

On the way down, Varian walked in between Rapunzel and Eugene. Varian couldn’t find anything to say that could describe how deeply sorry he was. Lucky for him, the two didn’t seem to mind, nor did they let a single second come by for Varian to fret about it. They talked about the happy stories they had when Rapunzel had first ran away with Eugene and about their adventure to the dark kingdom, taking care to leave out anything that could lead to the thought of Cassandra or anything else that was troubling. Varian had heard the tales many times before, but he didn’t mind the light hearted retelling to divert his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is a good chance i will add one last update to this about an alternate ending where you find out more...things and Varian does end up giving up the moonstone to cassandra :) but yeah i hope yall enjoyed!!!

**Author's Note:**

> 10.12.20 update: sup everyone!! so i've chosen to orphan this work because i want to separate my socials and my archive of our own account for now and i know some people know what my tumblr is from my ao3 account, otherwise i would keep this one my account lmao.  
> -sadie :)


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